Recently, I watched the final episode again, in which Mr. Feeny, the teacher of most of the characters for many years, gives his students a final piece of advice ­— he tells them to “do good.” Topanga, one of his students, corrects him by asking if he meant “do well.” Mr. Feeny, however, meant exactly what he said.

For most of us, it has been ingrained in our heads since childhood that we should try to change the world through our actions.

While this is a good idea, I think that we have made changing the world into something bigger than it is, something unattainable for the average person.

For example, at this year’s Sparticipation, I saw scores of volunteer and charity clubs trying to expand membership. This is an exciting and admirable thing, but from observing these members, someone easily could feel like the work they do is insignificant by comparison.

However, people often forget that we all change the world daily, consciously or not. It is up to us to decide whether that impact is positive or negative.

I impact the world every single day at my job, but I don’t work in some high-profile job or a nonprofit organization. I work at The Gallery, the Snyder-Phillips student cafeteria, as a Level IV student supervisor.

Working at the cafeteria often is referred to as “just a caf job,” and thought of as meaningless or insignificant. But after three years of working at the cafeteria, I now work in the human resources office. My responsibilities include hiring, training and scheduling new employees.

I change these employees’ lives.

By putting them on one shift instead of another, I choose who their coworkers are or if they have to work during a football game or on a weekend night.

This is not a responsibility I take lightly. While scheduling, I have to be aware of the fact that an employee is not just a name on an application, but a student whose life will be impacted by his or her work schedule. And for many of these workers, this will be their first job, so I affect their first impression of “real life.”

It is my responsibility to make sure that the significant impact I have on these workers is a positive one, striving to meet both the needs of the cafeteria and the employees.

But my job in the human resources office is not the only pivotal position that has the potential to change people’s lives. Even when I was a first-year worker, I had the chance to impact people’s lives.

The easiest way I did that was simply with a smile and a positive attitude.

Even during a tough, stressful stretch of the school year, a smile or a positive attitude can completely change someone’s day.

And changing someone’s day can change the world.

It is up to you to make sure you are changing someone’s day for the better. No matter what a day includes, you have the opportunity to “do good” on a personal level.

Many long days of mine were vastly improved by something a customer did, such as dancing and performing random shenanigans in the middle of the cafeteria after all the tables had been moved off the carpet.

Even during busy lunch rushes, a customer taking the time to tell me to have a great day or smiling at me while I was running around trying to do my job made my day much better.

These simple gestures changed my attitude that day, thus changing my life.

They taught me the importance of helping others and trying to positively affect them. They taught me to never underestimate the power we have on others.

Instead of trying to change the world on a large scale, I think it is wise to start right here on a day-to-day basis.

We are tremendously powerful and can change lives each and every day by simply having a positive attitude, performing random acts of kindness or handing out a smile.

And as you go through school and move on to opportunities that allow more chances to touch people’s lives, make sure to never forget the invaluable advice of Mr. Feeny to “do good.”

Piotr Buniewicz is a guest columnist at The State News and an elementary education senior. Reach him at buniewic@msu.edu.